Fostering Independence in Preschoolers

This is a great time to capitalize on your child's budding independence. To do this, you can:

• Allow your child to pick out her own outfits and dress herself.


• Follow your child's lead as to when you should begin potty-training. Learning to do it all on his own is a big step!


• Be patient when your child changes into outfit-after-outfit. This is an expression of her independence.


• Use the same clean-up routines that your child's preschool uses so that your child learns to be responsible for his toys. For example, there might be a special song that they sing during clean up.


• Provide lots of learning opportunities throughout the day.


• Teach your child how to introduce himself to new friends.